Gaming device manufacturers strive to make gaming devices that provide as much enjoyment and excitement as possible. Providing a game in which a player has an opportunity to win multiple awards and potentially large awards or credits are ways to enhance player enjoyment and excitement. Currently, gaming machines or devices provide games, such as slot games, wherein a player has one or more opportunities to obtain a winning symbol combination on mechanical or video reels. The winning symbol combination may be along the same payline or on different paylines (known as a scatter pay). By providing gaming devices with more winning symbol combinations, players have more opportunities to receive an award.
In slot games, credits are awarded to the player for each winning symbol combination based on a predetermined schedule (known as a “pay table”). In some slot games, the credits awarded to a player are determined based on a pay table associated with a wager made by the player. For example, a wager of one credit by a player provides a paytable having awards ranging from one to ten credits for winning combinations indicated on the reels. A wager of three credits by the player provides a paytable having awards ranging from fifty to one thousand credits for the same winning combinations. Alternatively, the credits awarded to a player may be based on the number of credits wagered on the winning payline multiplied by the number of credits indicated by the pay table for the winning symbol combination indicated on the payline. For example, a player may wager two credits each on five paylines, spin the reels, and collect twice the amount indicated on the pay table for a payline or scatter pay appearing on any of the five played paylines.
Following any payline pays or scatter pay, the credits won are added to the player's balance of credits. As long as the player has credits, the player may continue to play the gaming machine. In addition, the player may also: collect the remaining balance of credits by pressing a Cash Out button on the gaming machine; view the rules of the game by pressing the Help button before any spin; and/or view the game's pay table by pressing the Pays (or Pay Table) button before any spin.
Thus, a conventional slot machine issues awards for the winning combinations described above, according to a pay table. Because the winning combinations and the payouts or awards associated with the winning combinations are similar for certain gaming machines, players can suffer from boredom by playing new games that really use different graphics to illustrate the same old winning combinations and awards.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide new, exciting and entertaining games by creating additional and/or enhanced awards by generating one or more additional or bonus pay lines formed by the appearance of special symbols in the symbol matrix.